Strangers in the Land: A Congolese Murder CaseA man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the Third World. Maybe it's his first time around. He doesn't speak the language. He holds no currency. He is a foreign man. He is surrounded by the sound. The sound! Cattle in the marketplace, scatterlings and orphanages. He looks around, around.By Jan LundiusSTOCKHOLM / ROME, Jan 21 2019 (IPS)I thought about this song by Paul Simon while I in 2011 spent a few weeks in Kinshasa. I was a foreign man in a strange world, surrounded by sights and sounds, completely dependent on my new-found Congolese friends. When our taxi got stuck in a traffic jam and...Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - January 21, 2019 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Jan Lundius Tags: Africa Aid Armed Conflicts Crime & Justice Featured Headlines Health Human Rights TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news

Ebola and Marburg Haemorrhagic Fevers: Outbreaks and Case LocationsSource: United Kingdom Department of Health (DH). Published: 1/10/2019.
This Web page, updated in January 2019, provides information about incidents and outbreaks of Ebola and Marburg, both viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF). It describes current incidents and outbreaks, including the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in North-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); outbreaks in 2017; the West Africa outbreak 2014 to 2016; linked Ebola outbreaks and cases in other countries (2014 to 2015); and a historic map of outbreaks.
(Text) (Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health)Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - January 10, 2019 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

New bat-borne virus related to Ebola discovered by Singapore team(Duke University Medical Center) Newly discovered Mengla virus is evolutionarily closely related to Ebola virus and Marburg virus and shares several important functional similarities with them. For example, the genome organisation of the Mengl à virus is consistent with other filoviruses, coding for seven genes. The Mengl à virus also uses the same molecular receptor, a protein called NPC1, as Ebola virus and Marburg virus to gain entry into cells and cause infection. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - January 7, 2019 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

Global Health: Marburg Virus, Related to Ebola, Is Found in Bats in West AfricaThe discovery was part of a U.S.-led effort to spot dangerous pathogens in animals before humans are endangered. (Source: NYT Health)Source: NYT Health - December 24, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. Tags: Marburg Virus Bats Epidemics Centers for Disease Control and Prevention United States Agency for International Development University of California, Davis Africa Source Type: news

Sierra Leone fruit bats infected with Ebola-like Marburg virusScientists in Sierra Leone have found live bats infected with Marburg virus, a deadly hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola and so far undetected in West Africa, a U.S. government statement said on Thursday. (Source: Reuters: Health)Source: Reuters: Health - December 20, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: healthNews Source Type: news

New Field Test Discerns Between Ebola and Lookalike FeversAt the close of the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola crisis, the Paul G. Allen Foundation identified diagnostic gaps as one of the major deficiencies that had contributed to the outbreakâs spread.
âThe standard diagnostic tests that exist are very good, but theyâre hard to do out in the field in the middle of an outbreak like we saw in West Africa,â said John Connor, a virologist at the Boston University National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory (NEIDL). Instead, samples need to be sent to a facility capable of running the tests, which means it could...Source: MDDI - December 13, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Amanda Pedersen Tags: IVD Source Type: news

Surveillance Report: Annual Epidemiological Report for 2016: Ebola and Marburg FeversSource: European Union, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Published: 12/12/2018.
This three-page report on Ebola and Marburg fevers is based on data for 2016 retrieved from The European Surveillance System (TESSy) on April 4, 2018. In 2016, no cases of Ebola viral hemorrhagic fever and Marburg hemorrhagic fever were reported in the European Union/European Economic Area, with 26 countries reporting case-based data.
(PDF) (Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health)Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - December 12, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

Scientists to test tailor-made vaccine tech to fight epidemicsA global coalition set up to fight disease epidemics is investing up to $8.4 million to develop a synthetic vaccine system that could be tailor-made to fight multiple pathogens such as flu, Ebola, Marburg and Rabies. (Source: Reuters: Health)Source: Reuters: Health - December 10, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: healthNews Source Type: news

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research begins phase 1 clinical trial of Marburg vaccine(Walter Reed Army Institute of Research) WRAIR this week administered the first vaccine in a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a Marburg vaccine candidate in healthy adult volunteers. The WRAIR study evaluates the VRC-MARADC087-00-VP vaccine, developed by the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Marburg virus is in the same family as Ebola and causes severe hemorrhagic fever in humans. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - October 15, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Mechanism of Marburg virus sexual transmission identified in nonhuman primates(US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases) Research by Army scientists elucidates the mechanism of sexual transmission of filoviruses, which have been shown to persist in the testes and other immune privileged sites. Sexual transmission of filoviruses was first reported in 1968 after an outbreak of Marburg virus disease and recently caused flare-ups of Ebola virus disease in the 2013-2016 outbreak. The team found that Marburg virus persists in seminiferous tubules and that Sertoli cells are the reservoir for the virus. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - August 30, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Boston University lab gets shipment of Ebola, Marburg virusesResearchers at Boston University ’s infectious disease lab received the first pathogens it's gotten under its new heightened designation: the Ebola and Marburg viruses.
The National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories received clearance from the Boston Public Health Commission in December to be upgraded to a Biosafety Leve l 4 facility – the 10th in the country. The designation was years in the making, and came after intense scrutiny by state, city and federal officials, including approval… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care News Headlines)Source: bizjournals.com Health Care News Headlines - August 2, 2018 Category: Health Management Authors: Jessica Bartlett Source Type: news

Boston University lab gets shipment of Ebola, Marburg virusesResearchers at Boston University ’s infectious disease lab received the first pathogens it's gotten under its new heightened designation: the Ebola and Marburg viruses.
The National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories received clearance from the Boston Public Health Commission in December to be upgraded to a Biosafety Leve l 4 facility – the 10th in the country. The designation was years in the making, and came after intense scrutiny by state, city and federal officials, including approval… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Biotechnology headlines)Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Biotechnology headlines - August 2, 2018 Category: Biotechnology Authors: Jessica Bartlett Source Type: news

Bats may have co-opted viral proteins produced by Ebola for immune function(Cell Press) Approximately 18 million years ago, genes encoding viral proteins 35 (VP35s) integrated into the genomes of Myotis (mouse-eared) bats. Produced by the highly deadly Ebola and Marburg viruses, VP35s suppress the host immune system and play a critical role in the efficient replication and virulence of these filoviruses. A study publishing July 24 in Cell Reports sheds light on the potential functional role of these so-called non-retroviral integrated RNA viral sequences (NIRVs) in bats. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 24, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Study of bat natural immunity to Marburg virus may shed light on human disease(US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases) Scientists examining the genome of Egyptian fruit bats, a natural reservoir for the deadly Marburg virus, have identified several immune-related genes that suggest bats deal with viral infections in a substantially different way than primates. Their research, published online today in the journal Cell, demonstrates that bats may be able to host viruses that are pathogenic in humans by tolerating -- rather than overcoming -- the infection. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - April 26, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Annual Epidemiological Report for 2015: Ebola and Marburg FeversEuropean Union, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 01/2018 This four-page surveillance report is based on data for 2015 retrieved from The European Surveillance System (TESSy) on December 12, 2016, and additional information from epidemic intelligence. It states that no cases of Ebola viral hemorrhagic fever and Marburg hemorrhagic fever infections were reported in European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries in 2015. (PDF) (Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health)Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - March 3, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: The U.S. National Library of Medicine Source Type: news

How bats carry viruses without getting sick(Cell Press) Bats are known to harbor highly pathogenic viruses like Ebola or Marburg and yet they do not show clinical signs of disease. In a paper published in the journal Cell Host& Microbe on February 22, scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China find that in bats, an antiviral immune pathway called the STING-interferon pathway is dampened, and bats can maintain just enough defense against illness without triggering a heightened immune reaction. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - February 22, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

2018 Annual Review of the Blueprint List of Priority DiseasesWorld Health Organization. 02/08/2018 This Web page provides the 2018 List of Priority Diseases, which include Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease, Lassa fever, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Zika virus. Experts consider that given their potential to cause a public health emergency and the absence of efficacious drugs and/or vaccines, there is an urgent need for accelerated research and development for these diseases. (Text) (Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health)Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - February 10, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: The U.S. National Library of Medicine Source Type: news

Researchers inhibit ebola virus(University of Copenhagen The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences) The incurable Ebola virus has long been feared due to its high mortality rate and danger of infection. Now researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Phillips Universit ä t Marburg have succeeded in inhibiting the virus in cell cultures. The researchers hope to be able to continue doing animal testing and developing an actual drug. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - December 29, 2017 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Uganda:MSF Ends Its Intervention in Response to the Marburg Fever Outbreak[MSF] Ugandan authorities have declared the end of the Marburg fever outbreak that has affected the eastern part of the country since October. MSF provided support to local authorities, in particular in case management capacity and epidemic surveillance. MSF, the Ugandan Ministry of Health and their partners have also introduced new tools which will improve case management in future haemorrhagic fever outbreaks. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - December 11, 2017 Category: African Health Source Type: news

Uganda ends Marburg virus disease outbreakUganda has successfully controlled an outbreak of Marburg virus disease and prevented its spread only weeks after it was first detected, the World Health Organization said on Friday (December 8). “Uganda has led an exemplary response. Health authorities and partners, with the support of WHO, were able to detect and control the spread of Marburg virus disease within a matter of weeks,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. (Source: WHO news)Source: WHO news - December 8, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: marburg [subject], marburg haemorrhagic fever Source Type: news

New outbreak: Deadly virus, similar to Ebola, with NO treatment... now strikes Uganda(Natural News) Uganda is in the middle of a health care crisis as the deadly Marburg virus has once again hit the African nation. Health chiefs have announced that the virus, which is clinically similar to the Ebola virus, has been detected in five cases. The reports note that an emergency Marburg virus screening is being carried... (Source: NaturalNews.com)Source: NaturalNews.com - November 17, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

International Health Emergency Response Plan: Marburg Virus DiseaseWorld Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa. 11/2017 This 15-page document details the confirmed outbreak of Marburg virus disease in Kween district, eastern Uganda, that was officially declared by the Ministry of Health on October 19, 2017. It discusses the response strategy, and how the World Health Organization, working closely with national partners and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), is supporting the ministries of health to stop the spread of the virus; care for those infected; and provide coordination and technical and operational response. (PDF) (Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guid...Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - November 17, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: The U.S. National Library of Medicine Source Type: news

Uganda:Managing Marburg - How an Oddly Timed Outbreak is Testing Emergency Strategies[Independent (Kampala)] Kampala -On Oct.11, a woman died in Chemuron village, Kween District in an Eastern Uganda. She had a fever, headache, and was bleeding from several places. Doctors attending to her had feared the worst and sent her samples for testing. A week later, on Oct.17, experts at Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) confirmed the 50-year old woman had succumbed to a high mortality hemorrhagic fever - Marburg. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - November 8, 2017 Category: African Health Source Type: news

Virus 'similar' to Ebola has broken out in UgandaMarburg virus disease, which kills up to 88 per cent of people it strikes, is considered to be one of the most deadly pathogens in existence. Five cases have been identified in Uganda. (Source: the Mail online | Health)Source: the Mail online | Health - November 6, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news